Attorneys representing Boris Pasternak’s great-niece Anna Pasternak served notice through a letter to Lara Prescott, author of THE SECRETS WE KEPT, alleging copyright infringement of her 2016 book Lara: The Untold Love Story and the Inspiration for Doctor Zhivago. According to London’s Sunday Times, Pasternak’s attorneys charge that Prescott’s novel includes “an astonishing number of substantial elements” copied from Pasternak’s nonfiction book. Those similarities, they write, “exceed the mere inspiration a novelist may legitimately draw from a work of non-fiction.” Pasternak also takes issue with Prescott “passing off” her novel as the “untold story” of Boris Pasternak’s longtime mistress. UK […]
Archives for September 2019
People, Etc.
Cary Goldstein, executive director of publicity and senior editor at Simon & Schuster, will leave on October 4 to become head of curation at media start-up WaitWhat. Julia Prosser has been promoted to vice president and director of publicity of the Simon & Schuster imprint. At Atria, Kaitlin Olson has been promoted to editor. Melanie Iglesias Pérez and Loan Le have each been promoted to associate editor. Rebecca Raskin has been promoted to assistant editor at Harper Wave and Harper Business. David Gilmore has joined the Random House Children’s as marketing coordinator. He was previously marketing coordinator for Barnes & […]
People, Etc.
Jesseca Salky has resigned as managing partner and agent at HSG Agency, which she co-founded, to start Salky Literary Management. Launching October 1, the company “will not only sell books into domestic, foreign, audio and dramatic markets in the role of a traditional literary agent but will also act as business manager in the manner of a Hollywood agent.” A memorial to celebrate the life of Grove Atlantic art director Charles Rue Woods will be held on Sunday, October 6 from 4pm-6pm at the Center for Fiction, 15 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn. It is open to the public. Please rsvp to […]
As Trade Standoff Persists, Chinese Publishers Have Been Licensing Fewer US Books
In the wake of the continuing trade dispute between the US and China, in recent months the once-robust pace of book deals between Chinese publishers and US authors has declined considerably. There are no official or on-the-record explanations from Chinese publishers but rights agents, scouts and agents have been talking about the chill. Publishers Marketplace is in a singular place to quantify the market change: From January through May 2019, deal reports for sales to Chinese imprints were flat year over year (comprising a solid 190 reports, or an average of 38 a month). But for the last four months, […]
Endeavor Withdraws IPO, After First Reducing Pricing and Share Volume
By late Thursday Endeavor Group decided to withdraw their planned initial public offering of shares, set for Friday. The decision came after Peloton went public Thursday and saw its shares fall 11 percent from the opening price. Like Endeavor, Peloton loses money. The company said in their statement, “Endeavor will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop.” Facing tepid interest from public investors, Endeavor had already modified the IPO terms earlier in the day. They had lowered the expected share price to between $26 and $27 a share (down from $30 to $32 a […]
NYT Brings Back Monthly Mass-Market and Graphic Novel Bestseller Lists
After eliminating their weekly mass-market bestseller list in early 2017, along with three monthly online-only lists for hardcover and paperback graphic novels and manga, the NYT is restoring some charts for those categories in more modest form. Starting October 2 (online) and October 20 (in print), the paper will feature one monthly bestseller list for mass market paperbacks, and one monthly combined list for graphic books (comprising fiction, nonfiction, children’s, adults, and manga). “These lists are returning due to continued reader interest and market strength,” the NYT said in a release. They are also bringing back monthly lists for middle […]